Ang Lee: A Chicken Coop, But No Tigers

THE director Ang Lee, whose films have won eight Oscars out of 27 nominations, does not have a screening room in his four-bedroom home in Larchmont, N.Y., and rarely uses a computer or a cellphone. And instead of a fancy swimming pool in his backyard, he has a chicken coop.

The actor Sihung Lung and Mr. Lee, on the right, on the set of the movie “Pushing Hands.”

I dont lead a Hollywood lifestyle, said Mr. Lee, 53, who bristled at the thought of living either in Los Angeles or his homeland of Taiwan.

In Taiwan, Id be like Michael Jordan walking down the street, he said. Here I can live a normal life, and still make movies in the city.

Sitting at the Watercolor Café in Larchmont one Saturday last month, Mr. Lee had just returned from 10 days promoting his newest film, the controversial Lust, Caution, released in September in the United States with a restrictive NC-17 rating. Home for four days before flying to London, China and Korea — a grueling schedule that wont let up until January — he talked about making Westchester County his home.

He and his wife, Jane Lin, a microbiologist who drives a Mini Cooper, sent their sons to public school. Haan, 23, graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 2002; Mason, 17, is currently a senior there. Were not private school types, Mr. Lee said. We wanted to lead a very grounded, normal life. Thats what Jane likes.

Normal, of course, is relative. Trick-or-treaters to the Lees home fish out Mars Bars from the very same bowl that held car keys for the notorious key party in The Ice Storm. And several fighting sticks from his martial arts fantasy Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are displayed in the basement.

Still, when Mr. Lee is home, he is a typical suburban father. I basically drive Mason to his friends, pick them up, take them home, he said. Drive him to cello lessons and recitals. Masons friends know what I do, he said. But Im just a pretty regular dad. He also does the cooking. Mr. Lee has never really gotten used to American food, and Ms. Lin doesnt like to cook. So when he can, Mr. Lee whips up wontons and other Chinese homestyle delicacies.

Mr. Lee and Ms. Lin speak Mandarin together at home, but converse with their children in English. Mr. Lee would also like to observe traditional Chinese festivals, but, he said, Janes not up to it.

While Mr. Lee is in charge of the kitchen, Ms. Lin rules the roost, he said. Jane runs the house — she has her three boys, he said, including himself in the head count, and we have to listen to her. She makes the rules. We have to obey.

The couple moved to Westchester in January 1986 so that Mr. Lee could be close to New York City and Ms. Lin could take a job in Valhalla at New York Medical College, where she is an assistant professor of pathology. They briefly rented a room from a friend in Chappaqua before moving into a small apartment in a blue-collar neighborhood of White Plains. Mr. Lee remembers those years as a time when he and Ms. Lin would take the children for outings at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve and spend hours at the White Plains library. They lived in White Plains for 11 years before moving to Larchmont.

Larchmont is relatively relaxed, he said. Its low-key. You can get involved as much or as little as you want. So it works out good for us. I feel comfortable here. The school system is good. The kids are happy at school. Its a friendly neighborhood. We identify with the place. Were totally residents here.

Totally is relative. Because of Mr. Lees prodigious output — he has made a movie almost every year since 1992 — he has been away anywhere from six to 10 months of the year. He took his first extended leave from home in 1994 to film Eat Drink Man Woman.

It was tough leaving the family for four months, he said — so much so that he prepared and froze a couple hundred dumplings before he left.

Soon those lengthy stays became routine. He was in China for more than five months straight while filming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and even longer for Lust, Caution.

I feel bad, he said. I never saw Haan in a fencing competition. I missed all his games. I missed most of his teenage years. But he said Ms. Lin and his sons backed his ambitions.

Tag Cloud

External Information

Additional Information

Where Am I?